Why Are My Energy Levels so Low at Menopause?

Can Exercise Help with Hot Flushes, Mood Swings and Night Sweats? And Why Are My Energy Levels so Low at Menopause?

By Courtenay Polock, Accredited Exercise Physiologist and WellFemme Staff Writer Sally Stankovic

Welcome to Part Two of our Exercise and Menopause series! Let’s dive right in with some answers for you…

Yes! Exercise CAN Help with Hot Flushes, Mood Swings and Night Sweats

In case you hadn’t noticed, your body’s thermostat is more sensitive in menopause. We experience a narrowing of our range of temperature tolerance, leading to a reduced threshold not only for flushes and sweats, but also chills!

When estrogen drops, your brain starts misreading temperature signals, which can trigger hot flushes or night sweats. Exercise may help calm this sensitivity over time.

Exercise helps your blood vessels respond better

Without estrogen, your body can struggle to cool down or warm up properly due to changes in the vascular system. Movement helps keep your blood vessels flexible and responsive, which may ease hot flushes.

Body composition matters

Women with more muscle and less body fat tend to have fewer hot flushes. Strength training is a great way to build lean muscle and reduce symptoms.

Hot flushes are linked to heart health

Severe hot flushes can be a sign of changes in your cardiovascular system. Regular exercise supports heart health and helps reduce future risk.

Exercise lifts your mood

Menopause can affect how you feel emotionally. Movement helps regulate your stress hormones and boosts feel-good brain chemicals — great for managing mood swings and anxiety.

Why Are My Energy Levels So Low at Menopause?

Many women hit a wall during menopause and wonder why energy is so low. This directly impacts on their ability to exercise. Here’s what’s going on:

1. Estrogen directly affects energy regulation

Estrogen plays a key role in how your brain and body manage energy. It influences:

● Neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine which affect mood, motivation, and energy.
● Mitochondrial function (your cells’ energy factories); estrogen helps your body produce energy more efficiently.

So when estrogen levels drop during menopause, you may feel more sluggish, mentally foggy, or flat — even if you’re “doing everything right.”

2. Disrupted sleep

Hot flushes, night sweats, and anxiety often disrupt sleep, and poor sleep quality accumulates over time. Even if you think you’ve had a full night’s rest, fragmented sleep impairs recovery, hormone regulation, and overall energy levels.

3. Hormonal chaos impacts cortisol and the stress system

Estrogen helps regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis- your body’s stress-response system. During menopause this system can become more reactive, leading to higher baseline cortisol (stress hormone) and feelings of being constantly “wired and tired.” This also affects blood sugar stability and energy dips throughout the day.

4. Inflammation and insulin resistance increase

Menopause is associated with increased low-grade inflammation and changes in how your body processes insulin (especially with more abdominal fat). These changes can make energy production less efficient and leave you feeling sluggish and slow to recover.

If you’re wondering, “Why am I doing all the right things and still gaining weight or feeling exhausted?”, it’s not your fault! Menopause changes everything: hormones, metabolism, energy, mood, and fat storage.

But the right kind of exercise can help you avoid weight gain while supporting muscle, bone, heart, and brain health – and helping you feel like you again.